A Reoccuring Past
by drusillas1fan
Summary: A mysterious woman steps into Angel Investigations, and recognizes Angel. Who is she and why does she recognoze him? R & R!
1. The Arrival of 'Her'

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, except for my lurvely made-up, which you will learn more about later! The rest belong to Mutant Enemy, Joss Whedon, and all the rest of those geniuses!! I'm just borrowing!  
  
---------- "What do you see?" Angel asked with concern as he knelt beside Cordelia, who had a vision currently flashing through her head. "A demon... nasty looking... attacking a group of kids near the library..." she said through teeth gritted in pain. "Ooookay, we'll gather some weapons to vanquish whatever it is." Angel decided, holding out a hand to help Cordy up.  
  
She grasped it, slowly pulling herself into a standing position. "Man, that one –hurt-." She complained, lightly rubbing her temples. "We should be going soon..." Wesley chimed in, grabbing for a standard crossbow as Angel held a battle axe in his hands. "Yeah... he's right. We should get going." He agreed, grabbing his trenchcoat and putting it on as he headed for the door. Wesley and Cordelia, each carrying a crossbow, soon followed, and the trio was out the door.  
  
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Angel drove through the darkened L.A. streets, Cordy and Wesley riding in the back seats. "So, do we know exactly what demon we're about to fight?" Angel asked, his eyes still on the road. "I think it might be a Khangi demon. And to kill it, you just simply behead it." Wesley stated know-it- all-ingly, which was followed by a smile from Angel. "Well, this should be a short trip then, not that I'm complaining." "Me neither." Cordy added, raising her hand. "It sounds like a relief compared to the looooong battles we fight most of the time."  
  
Soon, they arrived at the library to see the 'welcoming' sight of a demon terrorizing humans. "Let's just get this over with." Groaned Cordelia, reluctantly stepping out of the car. Wesley and Angel soon followed, all arming and readying themselves for the battle. The Khangi demon turned from its terrorizing to stare with piercing eyes at the three. "Here we go..." Angel said with a light sigh, heading toward the demon.  
  
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Angel made a slash at it, the blade of the axe cutting into the demon's rough skin. Wesley and Cordy began to fire stakes from the crossbows, standing behind Angel. The stakes simply bounced off of the demon, but they hoped it would distract him enough for Angel to get a clear shot at decapitating it. And sure enough, once one of the fired stakes lodged itself in the demon's shoulder, the demon turned its head and reached to remove the stake. Eyes narrowed at the target, Angel swung the axe, the blade coming in contact with the side of the demon's neck and removing its head cleanly from its shoulders and the rest of its body.  
  
The trio smiled. "Well, that –was- easy." Said Cordelia happily, lowering the crossbow. "Yeah... feels kind of odd." Angel pointed out, "But I guess some are just lucky breaks." He finished, the kids having run off after the demon fell. "Yes, it seems rather speedy, but it looks as though it's dead." Said Wesley with observation. "What are we waiting for? Let's head back!" Cordy said impatiently, motioning toward the car. Silently, they all agreed, and they all got in the car, driving toward home, sweet home: Angel Investigations. When they arrived, the trio walked in through the doors. A thin figured woman was sitting at the desk. "Hello Angelus. Nice place you've got." She said in a melodious voice with a smile directed toward the shocked Angel.  
  
------ Next: Who is this woman? How does she know Angel? Find out in Chapter Two! 


	2. Meeting 'Her'

A/N: Well, here's the next chapter. Hope ya'll like it! --------  
  
"What are you doing –here-?" Angel asked the woman. She only smiled. "Is that how you greet me Angelus? Or should I say, Angel?" She snickered to herself at that. "Trying to seek redemption for all the things you've done? Id've never thought that the almighty Angelus would be reduced to a soulful goody-goody who saves the innocents instead of torturing them like he used to."  
  
"Who's she?" Whispered Cordelia to Wesley. "Whoever she is, she must have known Angel before he received his soul. That's why she's calling him Angelus." "Right..." Cordy replied. "...and that is... bad?" "Most likely, yes." Wesley stated, his eyes on the 'mystery woman'.  
  
"Get out of here, Merlot. I'm not him, not anymore." Angel said through clenched teeth. "Oh, you mean Angelus? You're all good now, eh? Riiiiight. Angel, you'll always be him, part of you will always be Angelus." Teased Merlot, green eyes gleaming with pleasure. "No... no..." Angel stammered, shaking his head in disbelief. "Angel?" Asked Cordy. "Who's this? Merlot, or whoever her name is. Who is she?" "Ummm..." Angel said, unsure. "Ummm... Merlot, this is Cordelia Chase and Wesley Wyndham-Price." He introduced, gesturing toward each of them. "Guys, this is Merlot. She's... err..." He trailed off. "I'm his childe, one of them, anyway." Finished Merlot.  
  
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Wesley's eyes widened. "Angel... is this true?" Angel looked back at Wesley, like he just snapped out of a trance. "Hm? Oh... no, of course not." He said, shaking his head. Merlot smiled. In time, in time they will know... She thought to herself, flicking a strand of auburn hair from her eyes. "Don't kid yourself, Angelus. You and I both know the truth... the choice you goody-goody had got to make is whether to trust your crew with the truth..." Merlot said in a sincere, yet somehow teasing voice. Angel only stared for a short time, then exited to his room silently.  
  
Merlot turned to the two. "Is Angel always this..." "Silent? Secretive of his past doings as Angelus? Yeah, pretty much. Unless he's in a good mood." Answered Cordelia, nodding. Merlot nodded understandingly, then turned her gaze to the still-shocked Wesley. "So, you must be the researcher. Cordy here is the vision girl, and dear Angel must be the -boss-. Always ran things, acted like it anyway." The woman shook her head. "And here he is, with a soul, and he still is. Guess some things never change, soul or not." Merlot smiled at this, and walked toward the door. "And Cordelia?" "Yeah?" Answered Cordy. "Tell Angel I'll be back tomorrow night... to -talk-." And then the female exited to get back to her current residence before sunrise.  
  
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Meanwhile, Angel was lying in bed, shirt off and thrown somewhere around the room. His hands were folded behind his head, deep in thought. Why me? Why her? Why now? I knew she'd show up sometime, eventually, but never thought it'd be this soon... Thinking about the situation for a while longer, he eventually fell asleep.  
  
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"Cordelia?" Wesley asked. "Yeah?" she answered. "We should... 'dig up some dirt', as you all say, on this Merlot." The British man suggested, heading over to get a few books. "Alright, I'll see if there's any reference to her on the web." Cordy decided, and headed for the office to use the computer. ------  
  
Next: Why is Angel loathing Merlot's appearance? What will Wesley and Cordelia find out about Merlot? Find out in: Chapter Three!  
  
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	3. Recovered Information and A Remaining Lo...

A/N: Sorry readers, had to go on a trip. Here's chapter three! ------ A bit before dawn, Merlot arrived at her current place to 'crash', as said nowadays, an apartment building which had been abandoned; and it was conveniently close to good ol' Angel Investigations. Shaking her head, she murmured:  
  
"Angelus or not, the attitude remains."  
  
An amused laugh followed the comment, and she changed from her dark clothing into a comfortable silk nightgown; and then climbed into bed. ------ Back at Angel Investigations, Cordelia and Wesley researched all they could on this 'Merlot'. Wesley was skimming through one of a pile of books from their library, and Cordy was searching on the internet.  
  
Cordy groaned, aggravated. "Grr... I can't find anything!"  
  
Wesley looked up from his book. "Hmm? Oh, I'm not having any luck either." He commented, trying to sympathize.  
  
"Well, this girl must've done –something- eventful! I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but she did call angel Angelus, and we both know that no possible good comes after -that-." Cordy pointed out.  
  
"Yes, true. But we –really- shouldn't be doing this. If Angel wanted us to know about this woman, wouldn't he have told us?" He argued.  
  
Cordy grimaced. "Well, maybe. You know him, he's not too fond of talking about his past."  
  
The two both nodded in agreement at that comment, and then went back to their research. ----- It didn't take long for one of them; either Cordy or Wesley; to find something on her after that.  
  
"Eureka!" Wesley exclaimed, his facial expression brightening with triumph.  
  
Cordy scrambled over, ignoring the whole 'eureka' bit. "What? What did you find?" she asked eagerly.  
  
"I believe that this passage says something about her." He replied, one finger gesturing toward a few paragraphs. "It talks of a supposed second vampire childe of Angelus, coincidentally having the same name as our woman. Here, read." Wesley said, shoving the book into her arms.  
  
Cordy found the passage he had pointed out and began to read:  
  
It is rumored that Angelus, the Scourge of Europe, spawned a second vampire, the famed Merlot. During the late 1800s- early 1900s, the two; along with the vampires Darla, Spike, and Drusilla; were seen together on several occasions, terrorizing villages, cities, and towns.  
  
No one is sure of the present whereabouts of Merlot, but some imply that she may have followed Angelus; now called Angel after a gypsy curse restored his soul; to Los Angeles, California, where he resides to this day. Others say she returned to Europe or Asia.  
  
Cordy finished the passages, and the two looked at each other.  
  
"Boy, that information is comforting..." She said with a sigh, closing her internet search window.  
  
Wesley nodded. "But the plus side is, we know her history and an idea of why she's here." He commented, trying to lighten the mood.  
  
Cordy nodded back in agreement, looking over at the clock. "Wow, nearly 7 am. We've been researching for a while..." she said, yawning. "... No time to sleep either..." ------ Angel lay in his bed, fast asleep. Meanwhile, a red sports car drove up and parked in front of Angel Investigations, the windows blacked out to not let sunlight in. The car stopped, the door opened, and a figure stepped out, completely clothed in fabric from head to toe. The figure, some curves suggesting it to be female, slipped through the door discreetly.  
  
When the woman reached shadows, she stripped off her outer clothing, leaving on a top, a pair of pants, and her shoes. Merlot sneaked up to angel's room unnoticed, smiling. One long-nailed hand began to trace lightly the facial featured she had grown to memorize, features that she could picture clearly in her head, even now. "I've missed you terribly, Angelus." She purred in a light, gentle voice, trying not to wake him. Next: Why is Merlot there? How will the rest of the crew stop her? Find out in Chapter Four! 


End file.
